Does God not give us an equal amount of faith?

Answer:

Faith is not an independent item. It is generated by our understanding of God's teachings and understanding requires that we actually listen to what God has taught. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17).

Paul urges us not to get overinflated egos about our abilities. What we are able to do is based on the gifts that God has given us, and each person is not gifted in the same way or to the same extent.

"For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness" (Romans 12:3-8).

Paul points out that our abilities, miraculous or not, are gifts from God. We can’t claim those abilities as proving that we are someone special. Since they are gifts, we should best use what God has given us. We are not given the same set of gifts (I Corinthians 7:7; 12:4). What we do have is according to God’s kindness to us.

Each of us does not have the same capacity to understand. Some grasp concepts quickly, while others have to work through ideas over a period of time. The result is that some are strongly confident about their beliefs, while others are not as sure. "Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions" (Romans 14:1). If all were given the same amount of faith, there would not be different strengths of faith. "Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification" (Romans 15:1-2).

Every Christian is expected to grow, and that would include growing in faith.

• "We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater" (II Thessalonians 1:3).
• "Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (II Peter 1:5-8).

Therefore, at any given moment in time, Christians have different amounts of faith.